The EU Fruit and Vegetable Sector in the Post 2013 CAP Scenario

The current debate on the role of Producer Organizations (POs) for the fruit and vegetables (F&V) sector of the EU focusses on a changing competitive environment, with price instability and downward pressure on producers’ margins. With the aim of analysing perspective improvements of the common market organisation (CMO) for F&V in the new CAP, the article discusses the main structural changes affecting the F&V supply chain and the results of a recent survey on the implementation of the CMO reform of 2007 in the sector. Proposals for possible improvements in PO’s performance are examined, with special reference to the implications of contracts and competition policy, in shaping the role played by POs, their effectiveness in rebalancing the bargaining power of F&V producers and in sta- bilizing prices and income. Among the key measures provided by the current CMO, the article analyses in depth the performance and limitations of the package devoted to market risk and crisis management.